Currently, laparoscopic and/or robot-assisted pelvic surgeries may often require steep Trendelenburg positioning in which a patient being operated upon is placed in a head down position at an angle of about 45 degrees for the duration of the procedure. Such positioning may be necessary to move viscera out of the pelvis so as to provide adequate visualization and exposure of the operative field.
Trendelenburg positioning may suffer some one or more limitations or disadvantages, such as making ventilation of the patient more difficult for the anesthesia staff. Also, patients may need to be padded and securely fastened to the table adding time and therefore cost to the procedure. Further, Trendelenburg positioning has occasionally resulted in complications such as cerebral edema, neurologic complications, lower extremity ischemia, among other adverse events.
Accordingly, a need may exist for a system and method of viscera retraction that involves limited or no Trendelenburg positioning.
Some implementations were conceived in light of the above mentioned needs and limitations, among other things.